Göbekli Tepe – the Stone Age Sanctuaries. New results of ongoing excavations with a special focus on sculptures and high reliefs

New archaeological discoveries at Göbekli Tepe challenge long-held assumptions about the Neolithic Revolution, suggesting that complex stone sanctuaries predated agriculture. Excavations reveal sophisticated sculptures and high-relief carvings dating to 10th–8th millennium BC, indicating advanced societal organization before farming. This contradicts the notion that agriculture drove early societal development, proposing instead that ritual or ceremonial structures may have played a pivotal role in transitioning from hunting-gathering to settled societies.

Schmidt, K. (2010). Göbekli Tepe – the Stone Age Sanctuaries. New results of ongoing excavations with a special focus on sculptures and high reliefs. Documenta Praehistorica, 37, 239–256. https://doi.org/10.4312/dp.37.21